Hythe Town 2 Tonbridge 2

Match 05/11/892 - Saturday, 30 July 2011 - Pre-Season Friendly

Hythe Town (2) 2 Parkinson 7, Cook 28
Tonbridge (1) 2 Main, 18, 59
Att. 128

Entrance: £7.50
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 78/331
New Ground: 241

Match Report

No pre-season would be complete without a new ground to visit and this year it was a trip down to the East Kent coast for Tonbridge’s fixture at Hythe Town and their Reachfields stadium. A pleasant enough little arena that is dominated by the clubhouse that is not particularly pleasing on the eye but viewing from the balcony is rather good, I’m told. Alongside there is a shallow stand with a limited amount of seating but the rest of the ground is without any terracing or cover.

The match itself was a well-contested affair with a draw a fair reflection of the play. Hythe took an early lead when the Angels defence failed to deal with a long throw, the ball was deflected into the net and the goal was awarded to Tom Parkinson, it looked like an own goal from the sidelines. Jon Main equalized after 18 minutes before Hythe retook the lead on 26 minutes. Once again the home side credit the goal to their own Dave Cook, but the ball was clearly directed into the net via the knee of Tonbridge’s Ben Andrews.

The second half saw the visitors step up the pace and on the hour, Main added his second of the afternoon finishing whilst one-on-one with the keeper.

Hythe should have won the game but for a miss worthy of YouTube fame from Lloyd Blackman, who somehow managed to loft the ball way over the bar from a couple of yards at most.

So the curtain comes down on pre-season as the weather warms itself for the traditional opening day of the season in baking sunshine.